Chile rejects proposed constitution establishing rights to personhood, religious freedom

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Voters in Chile voted down a proposed constitution that would have established rights to personhood and religious freedom as well as replaced the charter imposed by a military dictatorship over four decades ago.

In a Sunday referendum vote, Chile voters rejected a proposed constitution that would have replaced the existing Chilean Constitution. The Associated Press reports that with nearly all of the votes counted as of late Sunday, 55.8% of Chileans voted against establishing the new charter, while 44.2% supported it.

The proposed constitution spanned nearly 200 pages and contained more than 200 articles. The document was prepared by the Constitutional Council, which convened earlier this year.

The vote came over a year after Chileans voted down a more left-leaning constitutional proposal in September 2022.

The process of drafting a new constitution began earlier this year when the Chamber of Deputies, Chile's equivalent of the U.S. House of Representatives, established a "procedure for the preparation and approval" of a Constitutional Council. The constitutional reform approved by the Chilean legislature set the date for the election of members of a Constitutional Council on May 7.

The Constitutional Council was set up for the "sole purpose of discussing and approving" text for a new constitution. It convened on June 7 and continued its work through Nov. 7.

Article 1 of the proposed constitution declares in part that "the family is the fundamental nucleus of society" and "it is the duty of the State and society to protect families and promote their strengthening."

The proposal featured a lengthy list of fundamental rights and freedoms, beginning with "the right to life." In addition to asserting that "the law protects the life of the unborn," Article 16 of the proposed document also prohibited the death penalty.

Chile first began taking steps to repeal the nationwide ban on abortion in 2016. If approved, the proposal would have had the effect of overturning the repeal by establishing protections for unborn life.

The list of rights and freedoms also declared that "the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion" is "guaranteed."

"This right includes the freedom of everyone to adopt, live in accordance with, and transmit the religion or belief of his or her choice," the document clarified.

The proposed constitution also protected the right to "conscientious objection."

The document places a premium on parental rights, stating, "Parents, and where appropriate guardians, have the right to educate their children" and "to choose their religious, spiritual and moral education that is in accordance with their own convictions."

The existing Constitution of 1980 will remain in place. The Constitution of the Republic of Chile has a section identifying the family as "the basic core of society" but does not include a statement highlighting the "duty of the State and society to protect families and promote their strengthening."

The existing Constitution also guarantees "the right to life and to the physical and psychological integrity of the individual," stating "the law protects the life of those about to be born." Unlike the proposed constitution, the current Constitution does not explicitly mention the "unborn."

While the proposed constitution prohibits the death penalty, the existing Constitution allows capital punishment in limited cases. The present Constitution provides a right to "freedom of conscience, manifestation of all creeds and the free exercise of all cults which are not opposed to morals, good customs or public order" but does not explicitly protect religious freedom.

The existing Constitution grants parents "the preferential right and duty to educate their children" and "the right to choose the educational establishment for their children." It does not have a reference to "spiritual and moral education" like the rejected charter does.

Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com